Free wedding for quitting smoking

A charity in the Saudi capital Riyadh has come up with a novel incentive to encourage young men to quit smoking - an all-expenses-paid wedding.

Hundreds of men have expressed interest in the anti-smoking drive, including a non-smoker who was ready to start the habit just so he could take part.

Banners in Riyadh are advertising the campaign slogan: "Kicking the habit is on you, and marriage is on us."

In much of the Arab world, the groom alone bears the cost of a wedding.

The charity Purity says participants will complete a seven-day course to quit smoking.

'Sexist'

The name of the grand prize winner will be decided in a draw on 6 August. Twenty runners-up will get free furniture.

The high expense for a wedding means that Arab men often put off marriage until they have saved enough money to take a bride.

Some in Saudi Arabia have criticised the campaign, suggesting it might devalue what they consider a holy union, while others called the concept sexist.

But a spokesman for the charity said the aim was to create a smoke-free family.

"The fact that people are discussing the campaign means we have fulfilled our goal of spreading the word about it," said Salem al-Majdali.

It is estimated about a quarter of Saudi Arabia's 27.6 million residents smoke.

Lion prides form to win turf wars

Lions form prides to defend territory against other lions, not to improve their hunting success, a study reveals.

In doing so, they act much like street gangs, gathering together to protect their turf from interlopers, says a leading lion expert.

The bigger the gang, the more successful the lions are, information that could help conserve wild lions.

The discovery helps explain why lions, uniquely among the cat species, live together in social groups.

Lions stand out amongst all the cat species for their gregarious nature.

Across Africa and Asia, lions form prides of varying sizes comprising one or more males and often numerous females and cubs.
But why they do so has remained a mystery. A long-standing idea is that female lions socialise in order to hunt cooperatively. But despite the common sight of multiple females working together to outflank and bring down large prey, there is no clear link between how many lions hunt together and their hunting success.

Another is that lions gather to protect territory. Indeed, a range of animals from social insects to primates form social groups that defend territories against competitors.

But while there has been anecdotal evidence that bigger groups have a competitive advantage, the idea has never been rigorously tested over long periods of time.

That has now changed with a study analysing the behaviour of 46 lion prides living in the Serengeti National Park, Tanzania.

'Street gangs'

Conducted by ecologists Anna Mosser and Craig Packer of the University of Minnesota in St Paul, US, the study collated data about the prides' behaviour over 38 years, including where they ranged, their composition and how they interacted.

Mosser's and Packer's key finding was that competition between lion prides significantly affects the mortality and reproductive success of female lions, they report in the journal Animal Behaviour.
Larger prides with more adult females not only produced more cubs, as might be expected, but the females within these prides were less likely to be wounded or killed by other lions.

Prides with more females were also more likely to gain control of areas disputed with neighbouring prides, and those prides that recruited lone females improved the quality of their territory.

"The most important way to think about this is that lion prides are like street gangs," says Packer.

"They compete for turf. The bigger the gang, the more successful it is at controlling the best areas. The main difference from humans is that these are gangs of female lions."

Best 'real estate'

Both researchers think the study, alongside other work they have yet to publish, finally confirms that bigger prides form to defend territory.

"The advantage of large group size for group-territorial animals has been suspected for a long time, but had never been proven with data," says Mosser. "With this paper, we were able to do just that because of the many groups studied over a long period."

One surprise revealed by the research is that male lions turn out to play a much bigger role in how prides interact than expected.
Large coalitions of female lions are so successful at dominating small neighbouring prides that male lions step in to try to alter the balance of power. Males will often attack and attempt to kill female lions in neighbouring prides to tip the odds in favour of their own pride.

"Males turn out to be playing a greater role than we realised," says Packer. "Males attack females from neighbouring prides, likely altering the balance of power in favour of 'their' females."

The territorial advantages gained by coming together into larger social groups would have driven the evolution of social behaviour in lions, say the researchers.

"It also confirms a pattern that is probably applicable for many species, including group-territorial ants, birds, and chimpanzees," says Mosser, who is now at The Jane Goodhall Institute, in Kigoma, Tanzania.

Such insights will help with the conservation of lions, the numbers of which are suspected to have fallen by at least a third across Africa over the past two decades.

The research shows that "the lions are competing for relatively scarce 'hotspots' of high value real estate," says Packer.

So "lion numbers are ultimately limited by the number of hotspots that are safely inside national parks".

UK 'must slash defence spending'

The UK should consider slashing defence spending by up to £24bn and revisit plans to renew its Trident nuclear deterrent, a think-tank report says.

Britain cannot afford much of the defence equipment it plans to buy, the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) report says.

Its authors include former defence secretary Lord Robertson and the ex-Lib Dem leader, Lord Ashdown.

It comes after news of a £1bn cost overrun on two new aircraft carriers.

The original budget for the two carriers for the Royal Navy was £3.9bn but the BBC has seen a memorandum revealing the programme will come under "severe pressure" because of the cost escalation.

The head of the Royal Navy, Admiral Sir Jonathon Band, has previously defended the new carriers from accusations they were outdated "Cold War relics".
His counterpart in the British Army, General Sir Richard Dannatt, had earlier suggested many of the Ministry of Defence's new equipment programmes were "irrelevant" to modern warfare.

Similarly, the IPPR report suggests there ought to be a radical rethink of the way the UK budgets for defence.

Spending on the aircraft carriers, along with the fighters which would fly from them and the destroyers protecting them, should be in the frame for cuts, its report says.

The authors say the aim should be to eradicate nuclear weapons, and there should be renewed debate about the Trident submarine-based missile system.

The government is committed to renewing Trident at an estimated cost of £20bn. The policy is backed by the Tories but opposed by the Liberal Democrats and many Labour backbenchers.

The report's authors also claim that the mission in Afghanistan is on course for possible failure unless it is changed to include a joint civilian-military stabilisation and reconstruction taskforce.

It also draws lessons from the Mumbai attack in India, appealing for new preventative measures in case the UK has to face a terrorist attack at multiple locations in one of its major cities.

That would be a job for strengthened special forces, not the police, the report argues.

There is also a broader appeal for Britain to do more to co-operate with Europe and stop relying on the Americans when it comes to security.

The report says Britain would be deluded to think the US would always help Britain out.

BBC security correspondent Frank Gardner said the 180-page document, published after two years of research, would carry weight in Whitehall, given its highly-experienced authors.

As well as Lord Robertson and Lord Ashdown, former chief of the defence staff Lord Guthrie of Craigiebank, former UK ambassador to the United Nations Sir Jeremy Greenstock, and former Association of Chief Police Officers president Sir Chris Fox also contributed.

US soldiers leaving Iraq's cities

US troops are withdrawing from towns and cities in Iraq, six years after the invasion, having formally handed over security duties to new Iraqi forces.

A public holiday - National Sovereignty Day - has been declared, and the capital, Baghdad, threw a giant party to mark the eve of the changeover.

US-led combat operations are due to end by September 2010, with all troops gone from Iraq by the end of 2011.

Iraqi troops are on the alert for insurgent attacks during the handover.

Despite the pullback from cities and towns, due to be completed on Tuesday, US troops will still be embedded with Iraqi forces.

BBC defence and security correspondent Rob Watson says that while the pullback is significant, the actual withdrawal of US combat troops next year will pose a greater challenge.

The success of that depends on Iraq's political leaders and their ability to tackle the country's many outstanding problems and tensions, he says.

Some 131,000 US troops remain in Iraq, including 12 combat brigades, and the total is not expected to drop below 128,000 until after the Iraqi national election next January.

'Now is the time'

Iraqi soldiers paraded through Baghdad's streets on Monday in vehicles decorated with flowers and Iraqi flags, while patriotic songs were played through loudspeakers at checkpoints.

US commanders have said security and stability is improving, and that Iraqi forces are now ready to take over security operations.

The US Ambassador to Iraq, Christopher Hill, said there would be no major reduction in forces until next year but the pullback was a "milestone".

"Yes, we think Iraq is ready and Iraq thinks Iraq is ready," he said.

"We have spent a lot of time working very closely with Iraqi security services... and I think there is an understanding that now it is the time."

Mr Hill stressed that there would still be "a lot of US combat capabilities in Iraq for months to come".

"After June 30, with US combat forces out of cities and villages, localities, we'll still be in Iraq," he said.

"We will still have a very robust number of US troops in Iraq and, in fact, those troops will not begin to withdraw from Iraq until probably several months from now."

The pullback comes two years after the US "surge" of extra troops between February and June 2007, which took US troop levels in Iraq to 168,000.

There was a decline in violence, but recent months have seen an upsurge.

In the past 10 days nearly 170 people have been killed and many more injured in three attacks in Baghdad and Kirkuk.

Many sharks 'facing extinction'

Many species of open ocean shark are under serious threat, according to an assessment by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

The Red list gives the status of 64 types of shark and ray, over 30% of which are threatened with extinction.

The authors, IUCN's Shark Specialist Group, say a main cause is overfishing.

Listed as endangered are two species of hammerhead shark, often subject to "finning" - a practice of removing the fins and throwing away the body.

This is the first time that IUCN Red List criteria, considered the world's most comprehensive inventory of the conservation status of plants and animals, have been used to classify open ocean, or pelagic, sharks and rays.

The list is part of an ongoing international scientific project to monitor the animals.

The authors classified a further 24% of the examined species as Near Threatened.

Sharks are "profoundly vulnerable" to overfishing, they say. This is principally because many species take several years to mature and have relatively few young.

"[But] despite mounting threats, sharks remain virtually unprotected on the high seas," said Sonja Fordham, deputy chair of the IUCN Shark Specialist Group and one of the editors of the report.

"[We have] documented serious overfishing of these species, in national and international waters. This demonstrates a clear need for immediate action on a global scale."

The UN Food and Agriculture Organization recognised the potential threat to sharks over a decade ago, when it launched its "International Plan of Action for the Conservation and Management of Sharks" in 1999.

But the "requested improvements fisheries data from member states... have been painfully slow and simply inadequate", according to this report by the IUCN.

Many pelagic sharks are caught in high seas tuna and swordfish fisheries.

Although some are accidentally caught in nets meant for these other fish, they are increasingly targeted for their meat, teeth and liver oil, and because of high demand, particularly in Asia, for their fins.

Discarded bodies

"The hammerheads are special because they have very high quality fins but quite low quality meat," explained Ms Fordham. "They often fall victim to finning."

She told BBC News that, although finning is widely banned, this ban is not always well enforced.
"The EU finning ban is one of the weakest in the world," she said.

"The best, most sure-fire way to enforce a ban is to prohibit the removal of fins at sea.

"But in the EU, you can remove them, providing the fins you bring ashore weigh less than 5% of the weight of the bodies."

This rule was designed to prevent finning, but it provided "wiggle room", said Ms Fordham.

"The IUCN has estimated that, under these rules, you could fin and discard two to three sharks for every shark you keep, " she explained.

'No fishing'

Species listed as Vulnerable included the smooth hammerhead shark, the porbeagle shark and the common, bigeye and pelagic thresher sharks.

Fisheries have fought to keep their right to fish porbeagle sharks because their meat is so valuable, according to Ms Fordham.

"Yet we've already had recommendations from scientists that there should be no fishing of these sharks."

For certain species - that are considered particularly vulnerable - the authors have recommended their complete protection.

"The big-eyed thresher shark, for example, is very slow growing," explained Ms Fordham.

"Fishermen can very easily identify it, because it has a very big eye. So if they catch it accidentally, they can throw it back.

"These sharks tend to survive well when they're thrown back."

By the end of this year, the Shark Specialist Group will publish a complete report, outlining the status of all 400 species of shark, and closely-related skates and rays.

Protesters 'in new Iran clashes'

Iranian riot police are reported to have clashed with demonstrators defying government decrees to stop street protests over disputed elections.

Eyewitness reports say there have been clashes near the parliament building in the capital Tehran, in the streets around Baharestan Square.

Reporting restrictions in Iran mean the BBC cannot verify the reports.

The new protests came hours after Iran's supreme leader said he would "not yield" over the election result.

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei again said the result would stand, despite days of protests in which at least 17 people are reported to have died.

See map of central Tehran

The ayatollah has repeatedly demanded that the protests stop, but his calls have gone largely unheeded.

Witnesses told the Associated Press that police beat protesters with batons, fired tear gas and shot into the air to disperse the crowd on Wednesday.

Although some demonstrators fought police, others fled to another square about 2km (1.2 miles) to the north, the witnesses said.
Another witness told Reuters that the crowd had been dispersed by tear gas, but did not know of any casualties.

Iran has placed severe reporting restrictions on the BBC and other foreign media which mean many reports from the country cannot be verified.

The main protest leader, former prime minister Mir Hossein Mousavi, has not been seen in public for days, but his website quoted his wife as saying the protests would continue.

Zahra Rahnavard was also quoted as demanding the release of people detained since the election. They include 25 employees of her husband's newspaper.

"It is my duty to continue legal protests to preserve Iranian rights," she was quoted as saying on the website.

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was declared the winner of the 12 June poll.

Mr Mousavi alleges the election was rigged and is demanding a re-run.

The ayatollah had earlier agreed to extend by five days the amount of time allowed to examine complaints of electoral fraud.

But Iran's state-run Press TV channel said on Wednesday that a partial recount of the vote had verified the result, although it did not give details.

In other developments, another defeated candidate, the moderate Mehdi Karoubi, reportedly denounced the new government as "illegitimate", Reuters reported on Wednesday.

"I do not accept the result and therefore consider as illegitimate the new government. Because of the irregularities, the vote should be annulled," he is quoted as saying on his website.

Diplomatic row

Iran has blamed foreign governments for inflaming the protests.
Tehran said on Wednesday it was considering downgrading ties with Britain, after expelling two diplomats the previous day for "activities incompatible with their status".

The UK later announced that two Iranian diplomats were being sent home in retaliation.

Washington said on Wednesday it had rescinded invitations to Iranian diplomats to attend US 4 July celebrations held by embassies around the world.

A White House spokesman said Iranians had not replied anyway.

The BBC's Kim Ghattas, in Washington, says it is the first concrete step taken by the Obama administration in protest at Tehran's crackdown on demonstrators.

'Dozens dead' in Baghdad bombing

At least 69 people have been killed by a bomb blast in the eastern Sadr City area of Baghdad, Iraqi officials say.

Police said the device went off in a market place in the predominantly Shia area of the Iraqi capital.

More than 130 people were also reported to have been injured in the blast, one of the worst in Iraq this year.

It comes less than a week before US soldiers pull out of all Iraqi cities, a move the US said would not be affected by a recent surge in violence.

'Horrific'

An interior ministry official told the AFP news agency the blast struck the market place at about 1930 (1630 GMT).

The official said the bomb was hidden underneath a motorised cart carrying vegetables for sale.

"I heard a boom and saw a ball of fire," said Najim Ali, a 30-year-old father who was injured in the blast.

"I saw cars flying in the air because of the force of the explosion," he was quoted as saying by AFP.

Raad Latif, a local shop owner, said the scene after the blast was "horrific".

He said people ran to help the injured after hearing the explosion but were initially kept back as security forces tried to get emergency vehicles to the scene.

"After a while they came to their senses and allowed us to help as much as we could. The scene was horrific," he told Reuters.

Another witness told the Associated Press news agency he heard a sound like "unbelievable thunder" and was knocked to the ground by "a hurricane".

Market stalls were set on fire and an official told AP that people standing 600m away were hit by shrapnel.

'Confident'

Under an agreement with the Iraqi authorities, most of the 133,000 US troops in Iraq are due to leave the country's cities and towns and withdraw to military bases by 30 June.

Combat operations across Iraq are due to end by September 2010 and all US troops will be out of the country by the end of 2011.

White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said the top US commander in the country, Gen Ray Odierno, had told President Barack Obama that he felt "confident in moving forward" with the withdrawal.

"Gen Odierno has mentioned that we have seen violence greatly decrease even in the past many months from what it was," he said.

Mr Gibbs said Mr Obama had no plans to change the withdrawal arrangements.

The BBC's Jim Muir in Baghdad says the location of the latest blast was significant, as Sadr City has been struck often and provocatively in the past.

The attacks have been attributed to Sunni militants' attempts to provoke sectarian tensions.
But this tactic has failed since the Shia Mehdi militia, which used to retaliate, was disbanded last year, says our correspondent, and the attacks now only succeed in killing civilians.

The attacks are the latest in a violent week in Iraq.

On Monday, at least 29 people were killed in attacks in Baghdad and elsewhere.

Three people, including a four-year-old child, were killed in the Shaab district of north Baghdad, while a car bomb killed five people in the capital's central Karrada district.

In the largest attack of the year, more than 70 people died in a truck bombing in Kirkuk on Saturday.

But Iraq's Prime Minister Nouri Maliki has said the violence will not delay the withdrawal which, he said, would ultimately be a triumph for the country.

He urged Iraqis: "Don't lose heart if a breach of security occurs here or there."

Estimated Joyo Boyo end of era

The market lost a voice now so tandannya era "kolobendu" is a sign that the era of disintegration

1. Earthquake x 7 day

2. Broken land split

3. many are stricken ill and died a lot

4. Disaster farraginous

5. Only a few recover most of the dead

era "kalabendu" that starts / marked with:

1. There is already a train that runs without a horse

2. Land, surrounded by iron-bred (probably meaning Rail train)

3. Ships run on top of the clouds drift layang

4. River lost danaunya

5. Loss of market keramaiannya

6. Find the human era terbolak feedback

7. Horses like to eat chili

8. Women take the men's clothing

Jaman kalabendu is like a fun time, time enjoyment of the world, but the era was the era wreck

1. Therefore forget the father of many children

2. Many children who dare challenge the mother and father

3. Fellow brothers fighting each other

4. Women lose their sense of malunya, men lose their sense of kejantanannya

5. Many men do not have a wife

6. Many women who are not faithful to her husband

7. Many mothers who sell their children

8. Many women who sell themselves

9. Many people who exchange swap pair

10. Frequent rain one season

11. Many Old Virgin

12. Many widows who bear children

13. Many babies are born without a father

14. Women put men

15. Men's own humble rank

16. Many children born outside marriage

17. Widows cheap price

18. Widow's value is only one cent for two

19. Virgin vrijednost two cents for two

20. Widower valuable 9 people

Jamane jaman edan time Jaman mad 1. Women Take the Horse

2. Men stand idle / not working

3. Only the truth can still

4. People make mistakes wassail

5. People in both the Remove

6. People lakunya megrim ugly even have a high position

7. comment that is not its content (tosh)

8. A person is considered correct

9. People are not guilty should not be talking

10. People mulia dipenjara

11. One of the noble, honest destroyed

12. Traders are sharper

13. People plunge into the

14. Forgot your children and partner, friend and neighbor forget

15. Money and sweat just to gamble

16. Large card is opened, laughter

17. But the main home empty Bag

18. The child does not digubris wife nangis

weight as to what people do not participate, the color era "kalabendu"

For the time it will disappear and be replaced with fair times the Queen, the glory days, because it is rigid, the Spartan, a strong, Do not do stupid things. Wait time Queen of the glory era fair.

Obama condemns 'unjust' violence

US President Barack Obama has strongly condemned the "unjust actions" of Iran in clamping down on election protests.

He said he respected Iran's sovereignty and it was "patently false" of Iran to say the West was fomenting the unrest.

UN chief Ban Ki-moon had called on Iran to respect the "will of its people" after the disputed presidential poll but Tehran accused him of "meddling".

Earlier, the opposition was told by Iran's Guardian Council the 12 June election would not be annulled.

Electoral fraud

But Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei later agreed to extend by five days the amount of time allowed to examine complaints of electoral fraud.
In the 11 days since the election result, which saw incumbent President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad returned with 63% of the vote, opposition supporters have clashed with police on the streets of the capital Tehran.

Mr Obama said: "The United States and the international community have been appalled and outraged by the threats, beatings, and imprisonments of the last few days.

"I strongly condemn these unjust actions, and I join with the American people in mourning each and every innocent life that is lost."

He said: "The United States respects the sovereignty of the Islamic Republic of Iran, and is not at all interfering in Iran's affairs. But we must also bear witness to the courage and dignity of the Iranian people, and to a remarkable opening within Iranian society."

Mr Obama said of the allegations of meddling: "This tired strategy of using old tensions to scapegoat other countries won't work anymore in Iran.

"This is not about the United States and the West. This is about the people of Iran, and the future that they - and only they - will choose."

Referring to the recent clampdown on the foreign media in Iran, Mr Obama said: "In 2009 no iron fist is strong enough to shut off the world from bearing witness to the peaceful pursuit of justice.

"Despite the Iranian government's efforts to expel journalists and isolate itself, powerful images and poignant words have made their way to us through cell phones and computers, and so we have watched what the Iranian people are doing."

Earlier Mr Ban had urged the authorities in Iran to respect fundamental civil rights, "especially the freedom of assembly and expression", and end arrests.

However, Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Hassan Ghashghavi said: "These stances are an evident contradiction of the UN secretary general's duties, international law and are an apparent meddling in Iran's internal affairs."

He said the UN secretary general had "damaged his credibility" in the eyes of "independent" countries by "ignorantly following some domineering powers which have a long record of uncalled-for interference in other countries' internal affairs and colonisation".

On Tuesday, the country's legislative body, the Guardian Council, said there had been no major polling irregularities and the result would stand.

Guardian Council spokesman Abbas Ali Kadkhoda'i said there had been "no major fraud or breach in the election".

Mourning call

However, opposition supporters continued to call for the elections to be re-run, amid claims of vote tampering.

Among them was opposition candidate Mehdi Karoubi, who urged Iranians to mourn for dead protesters on Thursday.
His call echoed an earlier one from cleric Grand Ayatollah Hossein Ali Montazeri for three days of national mourning for those killed in the street protests.

The protests in the last 24 hours are smaller than they have been over the past 10 days, amid the strong security presence on the streets.

BBC Middle East editor Jeremy Bowen said the protesters were talking about finding other ways to show their opposition, including strikes or civil disobedience.

A spokesman for the US government said it "would not endorse" general strikes, but he added: "We've seen the beginnings of change in Iran."

In a fresh diplomatic move, Britain is expelling two Iranian diplomats in response to Tehran's decision to order two UK diplomats to leave Iran following allegations UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown called "absolutely without foundation".

'Good relationship'

Mr Brown told the BBC: "We want a very good relationship with the Iranians, we also respect the fact that it's for the Iranian people themselves to choose who their government is.

"But when there is a sign of repression or where there is violence that's affecting ordinary people in the streets, we have a duty to speak out and to say we want Iran to be part of the world, we don't want Iran to be isolated from the world."

The Iranian parliament's national security and foreign policy commission responded to the expulsion of the diplomats in London by reconsidering ties with Britain.

The meeting was attended by Foreign Minister Manuchehr Mottaki and the Iranian state broadcaster said certain decisions were made in the meeting that would be announced in due time.

On Friday, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei banned protests, prompting street violence in which at least 10 people died.

China frees waitress over killing

A Chinese waitress who killed a local official after he allegedly assaulted her has been set free by a court in Hubei province.

The court ruled that Deng Yujiao, who worked at an entertainment centre, was guilty of intentional injury.

But the 21-year-old, who said she acted in self defence, was released without punishment.

Her case has received widespread sympathy across China, and has been widely discussed on internet forums.

Police initially treated the case as murder, but this led to a public outcry. The charge was later changed to assault.

'Excessive defence'

After a two-hour trial, the court found that Deng had acted with "excessive defence" when she killed Deng Guida and injured another man, Huang Dezhi, with a knife after she refused to join them in a bath on 10 May, reports said.

The two men were township officials of Badong county.

A police statement said that the men pushed, shoved and insulted Ms Deng, China's official Xinhua news agency reported.

According to lawyers quoted in Caijing business magazine, Deng Yujiao has been diagnosed with a "mental imbalance".

This was cited as one reason why the court released her without punishment.

Chinese websites have praised Deng for fighting injustice, and posted poems and songs in her support.

The strong public interest in the case prompted the local government in Badong to post a statement online promising a fair hearing.

At least 500 of Deng's supporters gathered outside the court to hear the verdict.

Obama refuses to 'meddle' in Iran

US President Barack Obama is resisting pressure to side with Iran's opposition as mass protests continue over the nation's disputed presidential poll.

In a TV interview Mr Obama said there might not be much difference between the policies of President Ahmadinejad and rival Mir Hossein Mousavi.

Mr Mousavi's supporters have continued street protests despite the threat of government force and earlier bloodshed.

BBC correspondents in Tehran say the mood in the city is tense and angry.

Tough new restrictions have been imposed on foreign media in Iran.

But despite government attempts to control the flow of information out of the country, Iranians have been using the internet to send images and personal accounts of the protests around the world.

Mr Obama said he believed Iranian voices should be heard, although he added that he did not want to be seen to be "meddling".

"It is not productive, given the history of US and Iranian relations to be seen as meddling in Iranian elections," he said.

"But when I see violence directed at peaceful protesters, when i see peaceful dissent being suppressed… it is of concern to me and it is of concern to the American people."

Speaking later in the television interview, he downplayed the importance to the world of the struggle for power in Iran.

"The difference between Ahmadinejad and Mousavi in terms of their actual policies may not be as great as has been advertised," he said.

Earlier on Tuesady, the US state department said it had asked the social networking site Twitter to delay maintenance work so that Iranians could keep using it as a communications tool.

Result in question

The BBC's Justin Webb, in Washington, says Mr Obama is wary of the US becoming sucked into a protest movement in favour of Mr Mousavi, particularly as some intelligence reports suggest that Mr Ahmadinejad might have genuinely won the election.

Mr Obama has been under pressure from some conservative US politicians to openly support the protesters, who claim Mr Ahmadinejad's re-election is the product of vote rigging.
Republican John McCain, Mr Obama's defeated 2008 election rival, said: "He should speak out that this is a corrupt, fraud, sham of an election."

Iran's powerful Guardian Council says it is ready to recount some votes from the poll. A spokesman for the council, Abbas Ali Kadkhoda'i, told the state broadcaster Irin that the council had met representatives of the presidential candidates and would look into their allegations.

But opposition candidates have demanded a full re-run of the election.

President Ahmadinejad was declared the easy victor of the presidential poll on Saturday, with results giving him 63% of votes against 34% for Mr Mousavi.

Widespread anger at the result brought hundreds of thousands of Mr Mousavi's supporters on to the streets on Monday and eight protesters died when a rally ended in violence.

A witness told the BBC that Tuesday's rally in northern Tehran was even bigger than Monday's - though this cannot be independently confirmed - and the state Press TV also described it as large.

Witnesses described demonstrators walking in near silence towards state TV headquarters - apparently anxious not to be depicted as hooligans by authorities.

Thousands of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's supporters staged a counter-rally in Vali Asr Square in central Tehran - some bussed in from the provinces, correspondents say.

A BBC correspondent in Tehran said that protesters also blocked roads with their cars and police set up roadblocks to control gatherings of demonstrators.

As night fell, residents took to the roof-tops of their houses to shout protest messages across the city, a scene not witnessed since the final days of the Shah, our correspondent says

Sell Wood / Tree Mahoni

I have friends who live in the city of Malang, he has a mahogany tree that still stands strong as a tree and 684 on the estimate Perhutani wood is as much as 6000 cubic she wanted to sell the timber with the price of 3.5 billion, but I do not have or know what a wood , may when friends have a friend that Blogger timber operators can contact me ... wood is not officially illegal, may be here with me have told friends who are interested, please see our location and tree-tree.trees are planted parents start 1963 so the tree is estimated to be approximately 50 years for the tree ring is very varied and of high average between 10 to 15 meters, so once we see that there is no tree of all of the small-large and he (my friend) with the offer price of 3.5 billion. hopefully with the Blogger foreverglo have someone who can help to buy a tree-lined mahogany is.

Art Central Java

musical instrument jawa


Musical instrument typically jawa / Javanese Gamelan Hindu Culture is changed by Sunan Bonang, to encourage the love of life Transedental (Nature Malakut) "Tombo Ati" is one of Sunan Bonang. Until this song is still sung with the value of the teachings of Islam, also on the stage-like platform: Pewayangan, intent Marriage rituals and cultural events palace.





Shadowgraph

Puppet art form in the original Hindu culture arose before entry in Indonesia, and start growing in the era of Hindu Javanese. The show is a puppet of the remains of the Javanese religious ceremony that is the remnants of animism and belief dynamisme.
According to the Book Centini, about the origins Purwa puppet puppet arts mentioned that, once initially created by the King of the Kingdom of Kediri Jayabaya. Around 10 th century King Jayabaya attempt to create a picture of the spirit leluhurnya and digoreskan Lontar on the leaves. The form of a description of the puppet is imitated relief image on the Ramayana story temple in Blitar upgrading. Ramayana story is very interesting because of concern including Jayabaya god Vishnu devotee who is faithful, even by people considered to be the embodiment or bead Batara Vishnu. Figure leaders described for the first time is Batara Guru or Sang Hyang Jagadnata manifestation of the god Vishnu.


Dance JAVA



Dance is a part attached to the development of this new center. Appeared in the kingdom first dance reached a high aesthetic level. If people in the dance is spontaneous and simple, then dance in the palace have the standard, complex, subtle, and symbolic. If the review of aspects of the movement, the influence of Indian dance in the dances Javanese palace located on the hand position, and in Bali with eye movement.
Creation of the famous dance of the king, especially in Java, is a form of theater dance as the puppets and bedhaya ketawang. Two dance heritage is a Javanese king. Bedhaya Ketawang is a dance created by the third king of Mataram, Sultan Agung (1613-1646) with berlatarbelakang mythical romance between the first king of Mataram (Panembahan Senopati) with Kangjeng Ratu Kidul (the sea south of authorities / Indian Ocean). This dance show by nine female dancers.

typical Java weapons (keris)

Keris be bred in the community is represented as a symbol "masculinity" and because sometimes when a man because they can not attend the ceremony in the meeting, he represented typical Java weapons (keris). Keris is a symbol of heritage. In the Java community calendar pageant-winning heritage palace is the largest trust in the Sura one day / date it.
Keris inheritance or bequest is excellent spear is powerful not only because it made unsure of steel, iron, nickel, and even mixed with elements meteorid stone fell from the sky so that the strong stronger, but how to make it along with the accompaniment of prayer to the creator of the very nature (God SWT) with duatu apaya by the spiritual master. So that the strength of the omniscient creator of the spiritual nature that is held as the power of magic or luck, so the parties can influence the opponent to become the weapon of fear to the inheritance.

"Jump STONE": Nias Tradition

Nias Islands group consists of dozens of islands large and small, wide range disamudra Indies. Located in the western island of Sumatra. Including in the area north of the province sumatera.

To reach this area is not too difficult, there are several options of transportation facilities to reach the area, if we use land transportation facilities, we can start from the field to the city to Sibolga, then from Sibolga we must take the ferry from the port to the air port in the Nias island, such as in Gunung Sitoli, Teluk Dalam, Tello, Lahewa etc.. This facility is ideal for those who became very fond of adventure.

In addition, we can also use air transport facilities, the facilities They make this a more important aspect of the adventure rather than comfort, if we use air facilities, we can be landed in the airport Binaka - GIDO.

That of the native people in Nias is kepuluan tribe Nias (Ono Niha). despite living in one island, the original people of this language has a diversity of dialects, clan, custom house, and others. With these differences in the habit otomotis affect people who inhabit a place. As cultural stone jump and dance war does not have this tradition in the other regions except South Nias district.

Nias Islands has anekaragam flora and fauna such as birds Beo Nias is famous. Not anekaragam under the sea, and lakes. Nias save so many potential sources of both the human (human resources) and natural resources (SDA). So do not wonder if Nias Islands has some tourism object location both nautical tourism, nature tourism, cultural tourism, and tour the city in which this can be a source of income in the region must be extracted keberadaanya and need to promote in the outside world so that tourists would come to the islands of Nias. Besides, the Nias Islands have natural resources that are not found in management and maximum. Diversity is not one that can improve the welfare of the people who live didaerah itu.Dan Nias island is for two to Bali of Indonesia. With the developed Nias district into two, namely Nias and Nias Selatan, and then change again very helpful in the process of regional development for the welfare of communities Nias. This just reminds us that see the potential in the Nias Islands in more and together we develop and promote it to colleagues, family, the environment and the outside world.

Row erupts over Guantanamo deal

A diplomatic spat has broken out over Bermuda's acceptance of four Chinese Muslim Uighurs released from the US detention centre at Guantanamo Bay.

Britain has told Bermuda, which is one of its overseas territories, it should have consulted London before agreeing to resettle the Uighurs.

The four were among a group handed over to US forces in Afghanistan, but later found not to be "enemy combatants".

In London the Opposition demanded an explanation from the foreign secretary.

Beijing has demanded the return of all Uighurs held by the US forces to China.

The four who were sent to Bermuda were part of a group of 17 Uighurs still at Guantanamo.

Earlier in the week the Pacific island of Palau had also agreed to take the detainees.

US officials said Washington would consult the government of Bermuda regularly on the status of the men, who would not be allowed to enter the US without permission.

But the Foreign Office in London expressed its concern at Bermuda's decision to accept the Uighurs.

"The Bermuda government consider this to be a matter regarding their day-to-day responsibility for immigration," a statement said.

"We have underlined to the Bermuda government that it should have consulted the UK on whether this falls within their competence or is a foreign affairs or security issue for which the Bermuda government do not have delegated responsibility."

Britain is now helping Bermuda conduct a security assessment of the men. The Foreign Office noted that the four did not have travel documents and so would not be able to fly to the UK.

But shadow foreign secretary William Hague has demanded an explanation from the Foreign Secretary David Miliband.

He said: "It is astonishing that an agreement of such significance between the US and Bermuda, involving the resettlement of four former terrorist suspects to a British Overseas Territory, could have taken place without a ripple reaching Whitehall.

"The UK is responsible for Bermuda's external relations, defence and security and for appointing its governor. Yet the FCO appears to have had no idea that these discussions were taking place.

"This can only confirm the perception that the Labour government has been so busy with its own internal turmoil that it has lost grip of running the country."

'Let freedom ring'

A state department official in Washington said the US had dealt directly with Bermuda over the issue, on the basis that it was talking to the island's British-appointed governor.

Pressed on whether the US had told the British government, the unnamed official was quoted as saying: "We did talk to them before the Uighurs got on the plane."

The four arrived on a charter flight early on Thursday in Bermuda, a chain of islands lying off America's eastern seaboard.

One of them, Abdul Nasser, thanked Bermuda in a statement released through his lawyer: "Today you have let freedom ring."

Five Uighurs who were transferred to Albania in 2006 have not been engaged in criminal or terrorist activities since, the US government said.

China repeated its demand for the return of all Chinese detainees hours before Bermuda accepted the Uighurs.

The US should "stop handing over terrorist suspects to any third country", foreign ministry spokesman Qin Gang said.

Palau, a former US trust territory, grants diplomatic recognition to Taiwan, not China.

On Thursday, the president of Palau told the Associated Press news agency that the island had agreed to take in the Uighers because of its tradition of hospitality - and not because of a reported offer of $200m (£121m) in aid and other assistance from the US.

"We did agree to accept them due to the fact that they have become basically homeless and need to find a place of refuge and freedom," said President Johnson Toribiong.

The US has been reluctant to send the Uighurs back to China for fear they will be tortured or executed.

More than eight million mainly Muslim Uighurs live in the Chinese province of Xinjiang, a vast area of western China that borders Central Asia.

Beijing says Uighur insurgents are leading an Islamist separatist movement, recognised as a terrorist group by the UN.

US President Barack Obama has ordered the Guantanamo detention centre closed by early next year.

Correspondents say officials are having difficulty finding governments willing to accept the remaining detainees, while at home they face stiff resistance to the idea of Guantanamo detainees on being transferred to US soil.

Iran goes to polls to elect new president

Iranians have begun to cast their votes in the country's closely fought presidential election.

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is battling to retain his job in the face of a spirited challenge from former Prime Minister Mir Hossein Mousavi.

Mohsen Razai and Mehdi Karroubi have also fought in the campaign, dominated by the economy.

If one candidate fails to win a 50% majority, there will be a run-off between the two front-runners.

There has been a surge of interest in the election recently, with unprecedented live television debates between the candidates and rallies attended by thousands.

In his final TV appearance, Mr Ahmadinejad accused his opponents of conspiring with Israelis to falsify documents and graphs to discredit him.

His rivals boycotted the chance to appear on TV, after apparently not being offered equal airtime.
The result will be watched closely outside Iran - in the US, Israel, and European capitals - for any hint of a possible shift in the country's attitude to the rest of the world, BBC diplomatic correspondent Jonathan Marcus says.

The timing of the election is also crucial, as the US push for a new policy of engagement with Tehran cannot really get going until the outcome of the election is clear, our correspondent adds.

The live TV debates unleashed enthusiasm among the country's young population.

BBC Iranian affairs analyst Sadeq Saba says most of them appear to be supporting the moderate candidate, Mir Hosssain Mousavi.

Varied support

President Ahmadinejad draws support mainly from the urban poor and rural areas, while his rivals have huge support among the middle classes and the educated urban population.

Iranian women have also shown great interest in the election and it appears many of them will be voting for the moderate candidates who have promised them more social freedoms, our analyst says.

The votes in regions with national and religious minorities are also important, as they normally vote for reformist candidates.

Mr Mousavi is an ethnic Azeri speaker and is expected to do well in his province, as is Mahdi Karrubi in his native Lorestan province.

Iran is ruled under a system known as Velayat-e Faqih, or "Rule by the Supreme Jurist", who is currently Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

It was adopted by an overwhelming majority in 1979 following the Islamic revolution which overthrew the autocratic Western-backed Shah.

But the constitution also stipulates that the people are the source of power and the country holds phased presidential and parliamentary elections every four years.

All candidates are vetted by the powerful conservative-controlled Guardian Council, which also has the power to veto legislation it deems inconsistent with revolutionary principles.

US 'to protect Afghan civilians

The incoming US general in charge of troops in Afghanistan says his priority will be to review all Nato operations in a bid to reduce civilian casualties. Gen Stanley McChrystal said the population needed protection from the enemy, but also "from the unintended consequences of our operation". He spoke as regional commander Gen David Petraeus said insurgent attacks are at their highest level since 2001. Last week saw more than 400 attacks, eight times the rate of January 2004. Gen Petraeus said the numbers of insurgent attacks was expected to increase as troops target their bases and safe havens. There are currently more than 70,000 foreign troops in Afghanistan, mostly under Nato command. The Obama administration plans to send an additional 21,000 troops. Speaking to BBC Radio 4's Today programme, Gen McChrystal said counter-insurgency was key. "When we are in position, one of the things we'll do is review all of our rules of engagement and all the instructions to our units, with the emphasis that we are fighting for the population. "That involves protecting them both from the enemy and from unintended consequences of our operation, because we know that although an operation may be conducted for the right reason, if it has negative effects it can have a negative outcome for everyone." Correspondents say civilian casualties are causing growing public outrage throughout Afghanistan and friction between the US and Afghan governments. Gen McChrystal said his aim was to prevent the re-emergence of al-Qaeda and the Taliban in Afghanistan, blocking any future "safe havens" in Afghanistan. He will bring as many as 400 senior staff with him to Afghanistan to implement changes in how the US approaches the war. Asked if it would be a long-term operation in Afghanistan, Gen McChrystal said: "It will go on until we achieve the kind of progress we want to achieve. "It won't be short." He said he looked forward to continuing and increasing the partnership with British forces in Afghanistan. Without expressly calling for long-term reinforcements he made it clear that any increase in British troops numbers would be very welcome. 'High-value' targets With his experience of going after Saddam Hussein and other high-profile leaders, Gen McChrystal said he was not prepared to predict what would happen to Osama bin Laden, although he did say there was "a requirement to go after significant leaders". "If we win this effort it will be because we protected the population and going after the high-value enemy targets will just be a supporting effort to do that." Gen Petraeus, who oversees US military operations across the Middle East, as well as in Afghanistan and Central Asia, said attacks had worsened over the past two years and reached a new high in the past week. He said difficult times ahead were partly because US forces were targeting what he called militant sanctuaries and safe havens. New challenges Speaking in Washington, Gen Petraeus, who spearheaded the US "surge" strategy while commander in Iraq, said there would be new difficulties and more clashes as the international presence in Afghanistan increased. "Some of this will go up because we are going to go after their sanctuaries and safe havens as we must," Gen Petraeus, who heads US Central Command, said in a speech at the Washington think-tank Center for a New American Security. "But there is no question the situation has deteriorated over the course of the past two years in particular and there are difficult times ahead." Gen Petraeus said he was facing challenges in Afghanistan which had not featured during his time in Iraq and which included difficulties in relations with local people. He stressed the need for "being good partners and good neighbours and having enormous concern, needless to say, about civilian casualties in everything we do".

Suicide attack on Pakistani hotel

A suicide bomb attack on a luxury hotel in the north-west Pakistani city of Peshawar, has killed 15 people and injured at least 60.

Gunmen stormed the outer security barrier at the Pearl Continental Hotel before blowing up a vehicle containing, police say, 500kg of explosives.

Two foreign citizens - both UN workers - were killed and several were injured.

A series of bombs have hit cities, including Peshawar, since a government crackdown on Taliban militants.
Peshawar, the main city in the country's north-west, is not far from the Swat valley, where the government offensive has been concentrated.

Pakistani Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani swiftly condemned the attack but the blast hardly comes as a surprise, says the BBC's Chris Morris, in Islamabad.

While there was no immediate claim of responsibility for Tuesday night's attack on what is the most prominent hotel in Peshawar, our correspondent says most people will assume it to be the work of the Taliban.

A symbol of Peshawar's contact with the rest of the world, a place where government officials and foreign dignitaries are accustomed to staying, has been attacked, he adds.

The attack killed a Serbian UN refugee agency worker and a Unicef worker from the Philippines.

The injured include a British man and a German national, Peshawar district coordination officer Sahibzada Anis said.

At least a dozen UN employees were staying at the hotel at the time of the explosion.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon spoke of "a heinous terrorist attack which no cause can justify".

Brown faces down Labour critics

Gordon Brown has faced his Labour critics after another minister quit with a blast at his leadership.

Environment minister Jane Kennedy said she could not support him as leader.

It came as Labour digested a dire set of European election results which saw them gain just 15% of votes and finish behind the UK Independence Party.

At a meeting of the Parliamentary Labour Party (PLP) Mr Brown was applauded by most MPs despite admitting doing some things "not so well".

At a separate meeting, former cabinet minister Stephen Byers called on the prime minister to resign.

'Great support'

The meeting of the PLP had been billed as crucial for Mr Brown's efforts to remain prime minister.

During it, Charles Clarke, a former home secretary, told the prime minister he should quit, as did MPs Fiona McTaggart, Tom Harris and Siobhan McDonagh, the BBC understands.

But BBC political correspondent James Landale said MPs, crammed into the committee room, cheered and banged desks in support of the prime minister.

Defence Secretary Bob Ainsworth said there had been "no support" for the rebels who spoke and the meeting had been "overwhelmingly" supportive of the prime minister.

According to his spokesman, Mr Brown told the room he had "strengths and weaknesses" and that there were "some things I do well and some things not so well".

Another ex-home secretary, David Blunkett, also told the meeting the rebels should "put up or shut up", the BBC has been told.

Backbencher Barry Sheerman - who had previously called for a debate on the leadership - said he had expressed his own reservations about Mr Brown, but had been won over by his pledge to consult more and be more transparent.

Mr Sheerman added: "If the prime minister sticks to what he says, those of us who have been his critics will stand down for the time being."
Conservative leader David Cameron said Mr Brown and his critics were locked in "a slow dance of political death".

"He can't seem to reshuffle his cabinet but they can't seem to organise a coup," he told Tory activists in Wales - where the Conservatives pushed Labour into second place in the European elections.

A ComRes survey for the Independent suggests Alan Johnson would cut Mr Cameron's advantage if the new home secretary were to become Labour leader.

It said the Tories would lead by 38% to 22% with Mr Brown at Downing Street, but with Mr Johnson at the helm Labour's support would rise to 26% and backing for David Cameron would fall to 36% - enough to deny the Conservatives an overall majority.

Mr Brown has been reshuffling his junior ministers, following last week's cabinet reshuffle and departure of six cabinet ministers and several other ministers.

Part of that process has seen the departure of Ms Kennedy, Liverpool Wavertree MP, who has quit the government before - as health minister in 2006 over NHS reforms.

She told the BBC: "I was asked if I wanted to stay in government and if I did, would I give an assurance that I would be in support of Gordon Brown?

"I wasn't able to give them that assurance and therefore I have not been reappointed to the government."

Mr Brown's spokesman said the prime minister "did not ask for any pledge of loyalty from her or any other minister".

Meanwhile, Mr Byers told the meeting of the Progress thinktank that "now is the time for Gordon Brown to stand down" if Labour were to avoid a "humiliating defeat".

Labour MP Sally Keeble also announced she was withdrawing her support for Mr Brown in a letter to her constituents in Northampton North.

Later she told the BBC Mr Brown had not been able to "command authority" within government.

Labour MP Frank Field, the leader of last year's 10p tax rebellion, accused Mr Brown's allies of trying to "terrorise" Labour MPs into sticking with him by the threat of an immediate general election.

Air France tail section recovered

A Brazilian search team has recovered a large tail section of the Air France jet that crashed a week ago over the Atlantic with 228 people on board.

The Brazilian military released photos of divers securing the tail fin, which was painted with Air France colours.

Meanwhile the US is sending two sophisticated listening devices to help search for black boxes from the plane.

Brazilian officials said 24 bodies had now been recovered, an increase from the previous total of 16.

Bodies and debris from the plane have been found some 1,000km (600 miles) north-east of Brazil's Fernando de Noronha islands, where the Airbus disappeared.

See a map of the plane's route

The BBC's Gary Duffy, in Sao Paulo, says the search teams are likely to draw encouragement from the discovery of the plane's tail.

There had been uncertainty last week about whether some of the debris came from the plane, but our correspondent says the latest find is likely to help to move the inquiry forward.

Investigators have so far focused on whether the plane's speed sensors stopped working properly just before it crashed in turbulent weather.

French sub

The US listening devices are being flown to Brazil and will then be taken to two French tugs that will listen for signals from the plane's "black box" data recorders, the Pentagon said.
They can detect signals from the black boxes up to a depth of 20,000ft (6,100m).

The boxes are programmed to emit signals for 30 days.

A French submarine is also expected to arrive this week at the crash site to help with the search.

Teams from France and Brazil are continuing to scour the site of the crash.

The bodies that have been found will be taken by ship to Fernando de Noronha, before being moved to the Brazilian city of Recife, where a temporary mortuary has been established.

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said his country would do all it could to retrieve more bodies.

Discussing the possible cause of the crash, French officials have said the plane's sensors could have iced over, meaning pilots may have flown into a storm without knowing their speed.

France's Transport Minister Dominique Bussereau told French radio that such a situation could have resulted in "two bad consequences for the survival of the plane".

"Too low a speed, which can cause it to stall, or too high a speed, which can lead to the plane ripping up as it approached the speed of sound, as the outer skin is not designed to resist such speed," he said.

Air France has said it is stepping up the process of replacing speed monitors on board its Airbus planes.

The company said it first noticed problems with speed monitors a year ago and began replacing them a few weeks before the accident.

But investigators have said it is too early to say what role faulty sensors might have played in
the crash.

Charge over mother-to-be killing

A man has been charged with the murder of a heavily-pregnant woman who was killed in the street while on her way to work.

Pizza Hut worker Claire Wilson, 21, was stabbed in the back on Pasture Street, Grimsby, on Sunday afternoon.

Alan McMullan, 53, will appear at Grimsby magistrates' court on Tuesday charged with Ms Wilson's murder.

Ms Wilson, who lived in Grimsby, was seven months pregnant. Her unborn child also died in the attack.

Police repeated their appeal for anyone with information about the incident to contact them.

Throughout Monday a stream of wellwishers and friends visited the scene, leaving cards, flowers and toys.

Among them was Ms Wilson's partner, Adam Kennard, 23, who spent almost half an hour at the scene with a group of 25 family members and friends.

He left a number of items at the growing shrine to his partner, including a Baby Girl balloon.

Other members of his group left flowers, messages, pictures and candles.

One card was left with a pair of red baby shoes.

It read: "Baby April. You would have been the most loved baby in the world.

"Take care of your mum for us."

Airbus A330 France lost the suspect in the fall

One plane owned airlines Air France from Brazil to France with 228 passengers missing in the Atlantic after a suspected lightning tersambar.

The airline officials say this type of Airbus aircraft that automatically send a message 0214 hours GMT, four hours after leaving Rio de Janeiro, reported short-circuit occurs when the short waves penetrate fly great.

He is in the Atlantic ocean on the lost time, so the search effort Brazil and France increasingly difficult.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy said the possibility of finding survivors is very small sacrifice.

''This is a disaster that has not been experienced previously by Air France,''Sarkozy said after meeting with relatives and companion taulan unlucky passenger plane in the center of the crisis the airport Charles de Gaulle.

Previous executive director of Air France, Pierre-Henri Gourgeon, told journalists: "Without doubt we have a disaster in the air.''

He added:''We at Air France is doing as much as possible for the family and join in the mourning experience.''

Minister of France who are responsible for transportation, Jean-Louis Borloo, refuse factors as piracy causes loss of the aircraft.

"He be struck by lightning - this is one possibility," said Francois Brousse, Air France head of communications to journalists in Paris.

Aircraft numbered AF 447 flight hours to leave Rio 1900 local time (0400 WIB) on Sunday.

216 transport aircraft is 12 passengers and crew, including three pilots, the passengers consisted of a baby son, seven children, 82 women and 126 prila.

Details of citizenship has not been released but the passenger is believed there are Italian citizens and passengers in addition to English and French origin Brazil.

'Search long'

Airbus 330-200 aircraft type scheduled to arrive in Paris 11:10 hours local time (WIT 1510).

Reported the plane was missing about 300 km northeast of the city Natal, Brazil.

Air Force spokesman Colonel Henry Munhoz Brazil told Brazilian television that the plane is caught in the radar Cape Verde Islands, and confirming that the Brazilian air force plane has left Fernando de Noronha to search.
One plane owned airlines Air France from Brazil to France with 228 passengers missing in the Atlantic after allegedly affected by lightning.

One French military planes have also been diterbangkan from Senegal to participate in a search.

Borloo said the possibility that the plane ran out of fuel already.

"Radar is not Spain catch anything, radar Morocco and France also did not catch anything - we are really about the worst," he added.

Douglas Ferreira Machado, head of accident investigation and prevention in Brazil Civil Aeronatika Agency said search efforts would "take longer".

"This could be a long and sad story," he said to the Brazilian Globo News. "Is likely black box in the bottom of the sea."

An Air France spokesman said the radio contact with aircraft that do not occur "in some time."

Crisis center

An Air France official told AFP news agency that the wait for the arrival of the aircraft that will be taken to a special place in the second terminal Charles de Gaulle airport.

Family and friends leave the passenger waiting room was coming.

This is the first major accident in the area of Brazil since the air plane Tam fell in Sao Paulo in July 2007 that killed 199 people.